As he puts on a show in New York, this is what the world thinks of him. International Outcry Over Media Commission Bill, Described As Second Highly Restrictive Legislation in Africa Email This Page Print This Page The Independent (Banjul) May 10, 2002 Posted to the web May 10, 2002 Banjul The Committee to Protect Journalists based in New York in the United States and the World Association of Newspapers have added their voices to the chorus of disapproval of the National Media Commission Bill, describing it as a pernicious piece of legislation that would force local journalists to reveal their sources and conflict with the fundamental right of freedom of expression. In a communiqué released earlier this week, the CPJ lamented the fact that the proposed Commission would be state-dominated, arrogating itself powers to try journalists who were found to have violated the code of ethics to be introduced by the Commission. 'Over the past year, Gambian journalists have made successful efforts to regulate themselves. During the run-up to last October's presidential elections, for example, the Gambia Press Union adopted a code of conduct for journalists. Partly as a result, the political coverage was some of the most balanced in the country's history. 'Shortly after the election, local authorities arrested the owners of the Gambia's only independent news broadcasters and closed down Citizen FM, one of the country's most popular radio stations. Another journalist was arrested and tortured after he reported that thousands of non-citizens had been illegally registered in order to vote for President Yahya Jammeh. 'Local journalists believe that the current bill is part of an ongoing government effort to silence domestic criticism in order to improve the country's international image. 'The Gambian Parliament passed the bill on May 2, the eve of World Press Freedom Day. It is currently awaiting the signature of President Jammeh. "The National Media Commission bill is a disaster," said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. "If it becomes law, the Gambian government will decide who gets to be a journalist, and journalists themselves will not have the ability to protect their sources. We call on President Jammeh to reject the bill." 'The bill establishes a National Media Commission with jurisdiction over complaints against journalists. The commission can summon journalists to reply to complaints and is further empowered to force journalists to reveal their sources. The president of the commission is to be appointed by the president of Gambia. 'The bill requires all journalists in the Gambia to register with the commission, whose wide-ranging powers include the ability to close down media companies, impose exorbitant fines on journalists, and jail journalists for contempt. 'The commission will issue one-year, renewable licenses to journalists and media organizations. Organizations and journalists that do not register will be subject to a fine of no less than D5,000 (US$278). Individual journalists who fail to pay this fine can be suspended for nine months. Media organizations can be suspended for three months. 'The commission can issue warrants for the arrest of any journalist who ignores a summons to appear before it. The commission will also be responsible for formulating a journalistic code of ethics. 'A similar draft bill was introduced last year but was shelved after a leaked copy sparked vigorous protests by journalists and human rights groups. 'Gambian journalists have lobbied hard against this latest effort to restrict their work. On May 3, journalists protested the bill's passage on the streets of the capital, Banjul. The Gambia Press Union says it intends to pursue legal action in order to have the bill declared unconstitutional. Many local journalists have already indicated that they will not abide by the new law. 'The National Media Commission Bill is the second highly restrictive media bill passed in Africa in recent months. In mid-March, the Zimbabwean Parliament passed the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which also created a state commission to accredit journalists'. Meanwhile the World Association of Newspapers also registered their concern to President Jammeh in a letter thus; Your Excellency, We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 100 countries, to express our serious concern at the passing of a media law that threatens freedom of the press. According to reports, on 2 May the National Assembly approved a draft law that provides for the creation of a commission to control the media. Under the law, the commission, whose chairman will be appointed by Your Excellency, will have the powers of a court and will be charged with licensing journalists and media organs and with adjudicating in complaints brought against journalists and the private media. The commission, which will comprise lawyers, teachers, journalists, members of Christian and Islamic councils, a women's organisation and representatives of radio and television, will also be empowered to close down publications. We are concerned that the media law may conflict with the fundamental right of freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by the Gambian constitution and by numerous international conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 19 of the Declaration states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers." We respectfully call on you to do everything in your power to ensure that the media law is not enforced in its current form and that your country fully respects international standards of freedom of expression. We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Yours sincerely, Roger Parkinson President World Association of Newspapers Gloria Brown Anderson President World Editors Forum _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~